So we're back after missing last season due to an unfortunate mistake that wiped out the whole page...
This time we're taking kcwallace's advice to write in Word and then copy-paste the whole post in here to avoid what happened last season...
Also, we are adding a new post to the thread, and it is taking the first place! (in chronological order). So here's the program for Season 89:
1. Coaching Carousel: This will cover the coaching changes within DIII (coaches moving up to DII, leaving the world altogether, and new coaches joining)
2. Season Preview: The usual. This will be up after recruiting is finished, and will include the EPR as well as some comments and predictions.
3. Daily Updates: Honestly, these are fun, but I'm not sure if I will have enough time and availability to update them every day. So we'll see...
4. Player Awards & All-American Teams: As usual, human coaches will get the chance to vote for the best players & All-American Teams. The voting will run from the day the regular season is over (before the Conference Championships) until the day the regional finals are played (right before the Final Four). That is when the Player Awards & All-American Teams will be announced.
5. Playoff Previews & Predictions: Well bisoneer did a great job last year didn't he? 6 teams out of 8 reached the regional finals, 3 out of 4 reached the Final Four. We will try to be as good as he was this time around.

So to all of the human coaches who are hanging on in DIII Bryant, and to all of the new ones who will purposely or accidentally visit this forum to have a look, stay tuned and enjoy!

3/24
In probably the biggest coaching changes early on in this off-season, bisoneer has ended a 17-season tenure at Loras to move up to DII and take over at Winston-Salem State. He had enjoyed a lot of success at Loras, leading them to the playoffs in all but one season (80), and winning the IIAC conference championship 14 times out of 17. He moves up to DII with an impressive 233-42 record, of which 23-15 are in the playoffs. Add to that the National Championship that he has won with the school in Season 81, and you have one heck of a resume.
Winston-Salem State can consider themselves very luck to have such a profile take over, considering it is a school that only had 2 season out of the last 39 under human coaches! bisoneer will have this work cut out, as Winston-Salem State didn't have any season with double-digit wins since season 45, and that was 44 seasons ago folks... The school also plays in the CIAA, where former dominant DIII coach jjmurphy1127 is enjoying a lot of success at Virginia Union. GL to bisoneer in DII.
Later during the day, bisoneer was replaced by ahaney257, who comes from a 4-year span at Bethany (WV), in which he went 25-27.
In another coaching change, Trinity (TX) hired zipper74, who has spent his first 3 seasons in Bryant with Kenyon, leading them to a 24-15 record. Trinity (TX) had only spent one year under simAI, after soupman78734 left to team to move to North Alabama last season.
Some other coaches have ended their DIII tenure to close out the day, goforbroke leaving Muhlenberg after 5 seasons (49-17, 0-1 in 1 playoff appearance), and GB1 leaving St. Norbert after 10 seasons (93-46, 1-2 in 2 playoff appearances, 1 MWC conference championship).

3/25
In the first shocking news of the day, lawhorns has decided to end his 15-year tenure at Colorado College, and move up to DII to take over at Lenoir-Rhyne. He moves up with a very encouraging 177-42 record, 7 conference championships, and 11 playoff appearances. lawhorns' biggest woe in DIII was the playoffs, as he went one-and-done on 7 of his 11 appearances, and has an overall playoff record of 6-11, with his best performance being a loss against the eventual National Champions Concordia (WI) in the Final Four in Season 83. He will take over a team that was transformed from a pretender to a semi-contender by jayrudinger, as Lenoir-Rhyne has managed 2 consecutive 10-win seasons, including 2 playoff appearances over the last couple of seasons (they went 1-2 in the playoffs).
Later during the day, jarjarbinks has also decided to move up to DII after 3 seasons at Greenville, in which he went 27-12, improving from 8 to 9, and then 10 wins season after season, without managing to make the playoffs however. He has decided to take over at Fort Hays State, who has won 2 conference championships and managed 4 playoff appearances in 4 seasons under headpirate. geoffdaddy has also left Mississippi College after a 7-6 season to take over at Mars Hill.

superv has finally won his first National Championship with Huntingdon in Bryant, and it was well deserved. Concordia (WI) have played their second national championship game since elkhour took over (the first was the one they won against Huntingdon as well).

bisoneer has left Loras, and lawhorns has left Colorado, as you have seen in the coaching carousel. DIII lost 2 very good coaches this season, as they decided to move up to DII. How will the new coaches perform?

So here's the good, the bad, and the ugly. What to watch for and what to expect, as below are the elkhour Power Rankings (EPR) for the DIII teams in Bryant for Season 89:

1. Huntingdon (superv97, #4 Press, #4 Coaches, #4 GUESS)
Offense rating: 606 (rank 1)
Defense rating: 567 (rank 3)
Overall rating: 586 (rank 1)
Analysis: They are the defending national champions, they are ranked #1 EPR, and they have the QB who can lead them to what nobody has done since Shenandoah 17 seasons ago: win back-to-back national championships! superv97 has won 15 conference championships in Bryant, including the last 6 seasons, and is on a 54-game winning streak in conference play. He has also made it past the first round of the playoffs 17 times in the last 20 seasons! With the best QB in DIII, and a well balanced team full of studs, retaining the national championship is a big possibility.
Key Games: Benedictine (Week 3), Washington (MO) (Week 5), @ Buffalo State (Week 13)
Players to watch: Larry Perry (QB), Joseph Miller (RB), James Miller (DB)

2. Ferrum (bugeaters11, #1 Press, #1 Coaches, #1 GUESS)
Offense rating: 586 (rank 2)
Defense rating: 576 (rank 1)
Overall rating: 581 (rank 2)
Analysis: Ferrum is also on a 54-game winning streak in conference play, capturing the last 6 conference championships in the process. They have also made it past the first round of the playoffs 11 times in the last 12 seasons, but haven't won a national championship since Season 75. Last season they lost to Concordia (WI) in a nail-biter in the Final Four. They are looking for better this season, after already defeating 3 DII schools in exhibition games. With a relatively soft schedule, it looks like Methodist is their biggest challenge in conference play.
Key Games: Bridgewater State (Week 3), Methodist (Week 10)
Players to watch: Willie Walden (RB), Paul Stewart (DL), Rafael Mullins (LB)

3. Concordia (WI) (elkhour, #2 Press, #2 Coaches, #3 GUESS)
Offense rating: 572 (rank 3)
Defense rating: 570 (rank 2)
Overall rating: 571 (rank 3)
Analysis: Losers to Huntingdon in the National Championship last season, Concordia (WI) will be looking for another successful season with a good team overall. Last season, they had their 73-game winning streak in conference play put to an end by Benedictine in the conference championship game. elkhour has a 141-21 record in Bryant with Concordia (WI), and has finished in the post-season Top 10 in the last 6 seasons. With a grueling OOC schedule, and a conference that is getting really competitive, Concordia (WI) will have their work cut out this season.
Key Games: @ Mount Union (Week 3), @ Hiram (Week 4), @ Macalester (Week 5), Greenville (Week 12)
Players to watch: David Sullivan (WR), Rodney Simmons (DL), Marcus McCabe (LB)

4. Mount Union (gezeus, #7 Press, #7 Coaches, #2 GUESS)
Offense rating: 566 (rank 4)
Defense rating: 561 (rank 4)
Overall rating: 564 (rank 4)
Analysis: gezeus has enjoyed a lot of success at Mount Union, but he still has 2 problems: he suffers to WTF loss to a SIM almost every season, and he's inconsistent in the playoffs (8-9 record so far). This season however, he has the team that can do in Bryant what Mount Union does in real life... It is the highest pre-season EPR that Mount Union has achieved since I started maintaining this thread, and I can't wait to the big test 3 days from now when Concordia (WI) and Mount Union will square off in what looks like the most anticipated game of the regular season.
Key Games: @ Austin (Week 1), Concordia (WI) (Week 3), MIT (Week 5)
Players to watch: Robert Lawson (QB), Zachary Moore (RB), James Spencer (DB)

5. Loras (ahaney257, #2 Press, #2 Coaches, #5 GUESS)
Offense rating: 562 (rank 5)
Defense rating: 554 (rank 6)
Overall rating: 558 (rank 5)
Analysis: Loras has won 8 conference championships and 1 national championship in the last 8 seasons, but they have lost their coach. bisoneer moved up to DII to take over at Winston-Salem State, and was replaced by anahey257 who had a 4-year span at Bethany in which he went 25-27. Now he definitely has the team to start increasing this winning % and will be looking forward to that. The running game should still be key for Loras, as it was the main reason behind their success during the bisoneer-era.
Key Games: Colorado (Week 4), @ Cornell (Week 5), Waynesburg (Week 6), Washington & Jefferson (Week 7)
Players to watch: Robert Gagnon (QB), Joseph Lewis (RB), Donald Ratliff (LB)

6. Austin (eblake, #8 Press, #8 Coaches, #6 GUESS)
Offense rating: 547 (rank 11)
Defense rating: 557 (rank 5)
Overall rating: 552 (rank 6)
Analysis: National champions for season 87, Austin had a disappointing last season, barely making it to the playoffs with an automatic bid, and then getting destroyed in the first round against Menlo. This season eblake will be looking to an improvement, with the usual running game and stud defense. Facing a tough first test, and playing in a conference that recently was one of the best in DIII Bryant, Austin has to be much better than last season to avoid trouble and unpleasant surprises.
Key Games: Mount Union (Week 1), Linfield (Week 3), California Lutheran (Week 10)
Players to watch: Eric Ross (RB), Gary Johnson (DL), Christopher Segura (DB)

7. St. Olaf (mfnmyers, #17 Press, #21 Coaches, #10 GUESS)
Offense rating: 556 (rank 6)
Defense rating: 532 (rank 12)
Overall rating: 544 (rank 7)
Analysis: St. Olaf made their 10th consecutive playoff appearance last season, and mfnmyers looks to have his new system established by now, and should be a real national championship contender this season. With the usual soft OOC schedule, St. Olaf will be focusing on conference games, especially those back-to-back ones against St. Thomas and Carleton. With a very powerful offense, this team will be very hard to beat this season if their defense steps up.
Key Games: @ St. Thomas (Week 8), @ Carleton (Week 9)
Players to watch: Rick Sutton (QB), Carl Douglas (DL), Eric Welch (DB)

8. Linfield (kcwallace, #12 Press, #11 Coaches, #15 GUESS)
Offense rating: 545 (rank 12)
Defense rating: 542 (rank 9)
Overall rating: 543 (rank 8)
Analysis: Linfield has been continuously destroyed by Menlo over the last 3 seasons, and has gone one-and-done in the playoffs over the last 2, after 5 seasons with Quarterfinals or better. kcwallace will be looking forward to changing that, and this time they will not be playing Menlo before the conference championship eventually. The big question mark for them this season is how good can their offense be, as it looks below par compared to recent seasons.
Key Games: @ Austin (Week 3), @ Whitworth (Week 12)
Players to watch: Richard Phillips (RB), James Burton (WR), Sean Martinez (DL)

9. Gettysburg (hallgren, #10 Press, #12 Coaches, #8 GUESS)
Offense rating: 555 (rank 7)
Defense rating: 531 (rank 14)
Overall rating: 543 (rank 9)
Analysis: Quarterfinalists or better in the last 5 seasons, Gettysburg is facing real competition in the Centennial Conference, with a new up-and-coming great team at Union (NY). With a couple of strong OOC games as well, they will be tested. But they look adamant on running and pounding once again, and when this team runs the football they run it well and control the game. Just like St. Olaf, if their defense steps up, they will be very hard to beat.
Key Games: Macalester (Week 3), @ Wisconsin-Platteville (Week 4), @ Union (NY) (Week 6)
Players to watch: Michael Moody (RB), John Rutherford (OL), Alfred Durham (DL)

10. California Lutheran (boomcity004, #21 Press, #19 Coaches, #9 GUESS)
Offense rating: 549 (rank 9)
Defense rating: 531 (rank 13)
Overall rating: 540 (rank 10)
Analysis: In his second season in Bryant, and after a disappointing first 9-4, boomcity has a great team at Cal Lutheran and should definitely make a big improvement. Playing 5 human coaches in OOC will put him to the test, and having to play Austin later in conference play is another challenge. But Cal Lutheran has the offense to make a big impact, and they should be playoff contenders this time around.
Key Games: Bluffton (Week 2), @ Menlo (Week 3), Waynesburg (Week 5), @ Austin (Week 10)
Players to watch: Troy Hickman (QB), David Wall (DL), Jimmy Perry (LB)

Does anyone new want to participate in this seasons coaches poll? As of right now this is who I have left over from last season, kcwallace, superv97, ruplayer, and elkhour. If anyone I listed doesn't want to continue then just let me know. bisoneer left for DII, but if you still want to participate bison then just let me know as well. If anyone else is interested then just send me a sitemail and I'll add you to the list.

I'm having some trouble trying to paste the preseason polls from either excell or word. I'll try again later from a different computer. Sorry for the lateness, but it might not be out til late today or tomorrow.

The preseason polls are finally out. Still not sure why I'm having trouble pasting into whatifsports, but at least it's here. I wanna add a roundup of conference rankings based off the polls as well, but that'll have to wait till I figure out what's the best way to display that information.

mfnmyers, I'll add you to the list for the next polls. I'm always looking for more voters.